So, I booted into linux via a pMagic live CD to copy some folders from my old boot drive which are hidden under windows 7. While in linux, I used the auto configuration to get internet up and I surfed around for a bit. When my files finished copying, I exited pMagic and rebooted back into windows.

Now, when I got into windows, The little network connectivity icon in the system tray was going nuts. When I got to the "change adapter settings" page in the control panel, the NIC status would flash from cable disconnected, identifying, and acquiring network address very quickly. Nothing changed with my network configuration (modem/router to hub to computer).

I wasted about an hour trying to get it to connect again (and it wouldn't even in linux), but I eventually got the NIC working again after shutting down, flipping the PSU power switch to the off position, holding the power button for 10 sec, flipping the PSU switch back on, and powering up.

Everything seems to be working fine for the moment, but i'm curious as to what happened. I've never seen a NIC spaz out like that before.

It sounds like it was just a power cycling issue, did you have any energy saving settings set for your network adapter? (in BIOS) I've also heard of a lot of random issues with Asus boards running Realtek NIC's, which is probably why they've been using the Intel NIC's on a lot of their latest boards.